Very Interesting way of Powering Cellphone Towers

Ecogeek is one blog that I follow and enjoy. It does not try to foist the political attitude (left wing and extremist, of course) that bigger blogs like Treehugger try to put out as propaganda these days. And this is a good post that has implications for every country that has a cellphone network: http://ecogeek.org/wind-power/2995 Using Vertical Axis Wind Turbines to power cellphone towers is an innovative idea - the towers are at the location where they need to be, they are compact, and they save on energy generated at a distant location, probably using fossil fuel.

India and Pakistan are both investing large amounts of money in upgrading their respective cellphone structures. I hope that both countries will look at this technology. I have written about Helix Wind and their turbines on this blog before and their website is: http://www.helixwind.com/en/ The original CNET post that Ecogeek links to is at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10395216-54.html?tag=mncol;title

Logan Utah to Convert its Sewage Into Fuel and Fertilizer Using Algae

The Salt Lake Tribune has this excellent article with lessons for all of South Asia: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_13211659?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com-www.sltrib.comUtah State University's research project will work on the technology to convert the region's sewage into both fuel and phosphatic fertilizer, killing two birds with one stone. This is hardly different from what this blog has proposed in the past - looking at converting the huge amounts of sewage that are generated in India into fuel and now fertilizer as well to help Indian farmers. And, of course, this would clean filthy sewage carrying waterways up. How much better could the whole thing get?

Anyone listening in the Government of India? Or in the Tamilnadu State Government? Please look at this - it would only be good for the country. Ditto for other countries in the region . . .

The Salt Lake Tribune link was received via Treehugger.

Bootlickery and Lies on a Big Green Blog - More Nonsense from Treehugger

When Treehugger, easily among the biggest "green" blogs on the net (and the quotes are here for a very specific reason) begins to slide towards drum-beating for pathetic personality cults, it is something to think seriously about. In the first place, this attitude gives those who are serious about the environment, Green Energy etc a bad name because we get tarred by association. In the second place, you begin to wonder what a blog that is run by a media outfit has to gain from its non-stop pamphleteering for politicians of a certain party instead of focusing on problems concerning the environment and on possible solutions. Take this post into consideration: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/ted-kennedy-green-tribute.phpA supposed "tribute" to a "Progressive Green Champion" finds its way onto this blog, with the gushing praise ignoring the late Senator's singlehanded opposition to an offshore wind energy plant off his beach home as he didn;t want to look at windmills in the distance while he had his evening coffee on the sands. Presumably, acid rain and filthy air for the rest of the world were not an issue to this great new Treehugger idol as long as his view wasn't affected.

Nice, I guess, after Treehugger tom-toms John Kerry as a great green intellectual, beats the drum for a completely fraudulent policy of cap and trade which would only put money into its hero, Al Gore's bank account, and gets a failed pollster like John Zogby to endorse its propaganda. With friends like Treehugger in the "green" blogs of the world, which really committed environmental activist or renewable energy proponent really needs enemies?

Why India Needs to Look at Renewable Energy RIGHT NOW

Treehugger has this sad piece that speaks about how bad things are in India and how much worse they are getting, environmentally speaking: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/india-carbon-emissions-land-degradation-increase-groundwater-declines.php While there are some positive attempts being undertaken at growing more trees etc, the country's huge demand for energy to power gadgets for an increasingly wealthy population has caused more than a few problems. India is building more and more coal fired powrplants - the NLC complex at Neyveli seems to come out with new tenders for mroe and more large coal fired powerplants by the day. And huge quantities of coal get imported from Australia, Indonesia etc. The coal burning plants need water ajnd this drains the country's already meager supply of clean water. This forces the people to draw ground water for drinking, washing, agriculture etc and depletes ground water supply.

As visitors here know, wind turbines do not require water to be drawn, greatly reducing the quantity of water used up because of its use in power generation. And, the use of solar water heaters, as is mandatory in some parts of India, could help significantly in reducing power consumption from those filthy coal-burning powerplants by redcing the amount of electricity that is used, reducing the use of water even further. A win-win situation? Of course! And, best of all, one that shows fossil fuel the fist!

Religious Institutions in India Compete in Implementing Renewable Energy Solutions

While I am almost always as suspicious of religious outfits as I am of politicians, here is one of a few instances where I could agree with the religious outfits involved: http://tinyurl.com/n3xynr The Shirdi and Tirupati shrines have both installed solar water heating systems to help with cooking for devotees who go there to worship. I'll go one step further and hope that there is not just more competition in this area, but also that the worshippers at these centers get sufficiently inspired to buy their own solar cookers and use less fossil fuels at home. I can think of hugely popular centers like Ajmer which is popular with Muslim worshippers, Vailankanni and Chalakudi which are popular with Catholics and more in India who could go renewable.

Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend!

Barack Obama Rejects 98% of Scientists' Clean Energy Research Proposals

I'll say this for Treehugger - after offering John Kerry's ridiculous defense of the Cap and Trade fraud yesterday, they have been objective in showing where the Obama Idol has feet of clay: http://tinyurl.com/l6h8k5 One would think that an administration that promised a lot would stop trying to sell fraud schemes like Cap and Trade that would only enrich select members of the Democratic Party and focus on supporting scientists and encourage genuine research.

Surprise, surprise! Barack Obama is no messiah or savior! He is just another lying politician who says something in order to get votes and then conveniently forgets his promises. Here is a lesson for everyone who looks at expecting a state or a particular politician to do something of value - don't be foolish!

Exactly the Kind of Nonsense that Makes All Pro Environment People Look Like Idiots

I have a longstanding affection for the dedication with which the Treehugger blog is produced and I have regularly used material from it ever since I started blogging about possible ways of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. However, this post sort of broke the camel's back with its sheer ridiculousness: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/there-will-be-no-financial-monkey-business-senate-cap-and-trade-john-kerry.php I can understand the Treehugger lot beating the drum for Obama and the Democratic Party. Many of my friends who are concerned about the environment believe that the Republican Party is too tied in with the oil companies and with coal miners to do anything meaningful about reducing the USA's dependence on oil and coal. However, the whole business of Cap and Trade is a fraud and it is a devious step that Treehugger have taken in taking the word of a lying loser like John Kerrry to promote this scheme to keep some politicians rich.

Let this be clear - Climate Exchange PLC, the company that owns three of five of the world's carbon exchanges, has huge investments by Al Gore's Generation Investment Management company. It also has a huge investment by Goldman Sachs, the financial services group. Don't try to sell me the BS that these guys are out to sell carbon credits to make the world a better place! Follow the money that this will generate - at a 3% transaction fee for credits traded on these exchanges and possibly trillions of dollars that would pass through them, guess who is going to become rich? John Kerry is one of a tiny, select band of American politicians who can occasionally make Joe Biden look intelligent. What a magnificent personality Treehugger have chosen to sell Cap and Trade as one of their pet solutions! Let's all accept this as Gospel Truth, sit down and drink locally made green tea made in water boiled in a solar heater and hold hands and sing kumbayya!

I am NOT a scientist but there have been enough scientists who are concerned about the environment and global warming who have called this Cap and Trade business for the fraud that it is. On this issue, they stand shoulder to shoulder with the skeptics of this proposal on the Republican side as well as with independent people who can think. Treehugger are welcome to support whatever agenda they would like to - the unfortunate fact, though, when they pound the drums to sell Cap and Trade, is that when the fraud gets widely exposed, (and get exposed it will, because of the strong lobbies that oppose everything that the pro-environment groups believe in) all pro-environment people and groups would end up getting tarred with the same brush. In this, Treehugger does the entire environmental movement a terrible disservice.

The websites of Climaye Exchange PLC is: http://www.climateexchangeplc.com/ That of the Chicago Climate Exchange is: http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/index.html Generation Investment Management's website is: http://www.generationim.com/ Goldman Sachs's website is: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/

Visitors to this blog are mostly from the journalist community and I would urge you folk to please check on all of these entities and derive your own conclusions. As a community that I was once a part of, I am sure that you would reach the same conclusion that I have - it is unfortunate when those who are concerned about the environment have to step up and criticize a blog like Treehugger, but when one of us decides to replace skepticism with adulation for a fraudulent scheme, it is neccessary to be critical of them.

Showing the Fist to Those Who Claim that Clean Energy Isn't Profitable

I have written about Ecotricity website: http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/ before. Dale Vince, the owner, is prone to a little hyperbole, but his talk of a "wind powered car" is nowhere near as untrustworthy as the lies that self-appointed "experts" seem to have come out with to tell the world that clean energy would never be profitable. This entry at Treehugger points out that Vince is one of Britain's richest men: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/uk-wind-entrepreneur-rich-list.php We have also seen, in past posts, that the electricity sold by his companies is, in fact, cheaper than that which is sold by the soot producers. So why the continued crap in the media about clean energy being more expensive? My feeling is that this is because some self-important jerks have a need to lie in order to get media-time. These are usually people who love the sound of their own voice, and they also love seeing their names in print. If terrorists need to be denied the "oxygen of publicity" as Ronald Reagan put it, then these pathological liars about Green Energy deserve to be denied this even more.

Which brings me to another big lie - that green energy is expensive. Check this link out from Instructables via Treehugger about making a solar cooker using defective CDs: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/build-a-solar-cooker.php

Excellent Article on Green Building Basics

While there is a lot of greenwashing that takes place these days in the rush by some corrupt businesses to capitalize on the popularity of the green movement, ("greenwashing" being just a polite term for bullshitting) the fact is that it is quite easy to go green whether this refers to how someone lives or how they build their homes. How Stuff Works, the Discovery Channel's popular show and website has an excellent series of articles on the subject at: http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/energy-efficiency/green-building.htm

Hopefully, this should give those who want this information in simple and uncomplicated language something to enjoy reading and then implement in their lives. Thanks, Treehugger, for the link to your sister website!

Green Advocates Begin Talking About Sailships

Visitors to this blog would know that I am, personally, obsessed with the idea of transporting goods by sea, and by sailships in particular. Treehugger and Low Tech Magazine, both blogs that I subscribe to and which can be accessed through the reading lists here, have taken up the cause as the following posts indicate: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/slow-freight-wind-powered-transport.php and http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/slow-freight-goes-high-tech.php Low Tech Mag's original story that sparked this discussion is: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/04/cargo-ships-then-and-now.html

Those who have their own views on this subject, are welcome to post there. I hope someone with an entrepreneurial bent thinks about this and does something like start a shipping business with sailships . . .

Air India Follows Emirates in Saving Fuel

After a dispute with Air India (where the consumer courts ruled in my favor) many years ago, I swore never to use that airline and I am convinced thhat I did the right thing. Recently, when my mother in law visited Chicago, I told the jokers at their counter that I never traveled in their miserable apology of an airline and that I never would. My mother in law is a masochist - no one who isn't one, would want to spend their own money to travel on this airline, in my opinion. But then, as my late grandmother used to say, you could find something useful even in a dead snake if you tried. Treehugger has this post about Air India saving fuel: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/air-india-fuel-efficiency-efforts-save-9-million-dollars-in-six-months.php

Considering that the jokers who run this Indian public sector farce have been living on handouts from the Central Government for decades, this must be one way the management is trying to keep this airline afloat. I guess, from the viewpoint of this blog, it saves fossil fuel from being burned and polluting the atmosphere - Air India have to be acknowledged for showing fossil fuel the fist. That said, Emirates, probably the best international airline these days, have a much bigger program than Air India's and they were there even earlier. With considerably more planes than Air India can even dream about buying, they do a much bigger job of saving fuel.

Abdullah Starts Whining About Alternative Energy

After acting like thugs for the major part of their history, the Saudi Arabians have suddenly started acting like hurt kindergarten girls. And, the reason for this is their fear of the world destroying them by switching to alternative energy: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/saudi-arabia-claims-climate-talks-threaten-their-economic-survival.php This link to a piece on Treehugger has been reported on several other websites as well.

I have a few things to say about this - if this does work in bankrupting the desert thugs, the world needs to go far it as fast as it can! No country has held the world to ransom and in so many different ways as the Saudis. Leave aside, for a moment, their sending the bulk of the 9/11 hijackers or of their funding terrorist groups in virtually every country around the world. Leave aside, also, their thuggery towards their own people - I do not have the room on this blog to go into the regular abuses of human rights conducted by Saudi thugs and neither is there enough room even in a set of volumes as bulky as the Encyclopedia Brittanica. And, like a parasite that sucks on the blood of the creature that it lives on and grows stronger while making the organism that it feeds off weaker even as it introduces diseases in addition to sucking its blood, the Saudis have been supplying the rest of the world with oil and bleeding it systematically, building palaces for themselves and sending funds and arms to jihadis everywhere else in the world.

Now, these thugs want to offer their deserts as locations for the rest of the world to generate solar powered electricity from. There has been talk for some time of large solar powered electric plants in Saudi Arabia sending power via transmission lines to Europe. If the Europeans fall for this colossal fraud, they deserve whatever problems they are certain to get. There are enough European locations as well as locations in other civilized countries that are located closer to Europe than Saudi Arabia from where the Europeans could get their solar power if they feel that what they could generate in Europe itself would not be enough. As far as the Saudis are concerned, it would be best to work hard towards reducing the use of oil, to let them spend the trillions of dollars that they have on whatever they want to, and then let them go back to their camels. SOmeone out to read out Shelley's "Ozymandias" to them. I can only hope that the Saudi sheikhs meet with the fate of the Egyptian pharaohs as soon as possible. They deserve it.

Bullshit Being Fobbed Off as Genius

There are, occasionally, questionable stories that come up in the media especially when star-struck reporters and editors do not bother to check up on a story's antecedents. This happens most often with media outfits that promote a specific ideology, and, India's Communist newspaper, "The Hindu" seems to have fallen into this habit with this story: http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/28/stories/2009032854610700.htm

While I do not wish to slam some young kids for a fraud that has, almost certainly, been perpetrated by some crooked science teacher in their school, I wonder how difficult it would have been for The Hindu to figure out that such a design was mooted by an African NGO based on tribal designs that have been used to keep food fresh in that part of the world for centuries? Or that Treehugger had slammed an attempt by a US based business that wanted to patent this same idea in much the same way that this school wants to? Here is where Greenwashing is clearly at play with a liberal dose of BS piled on top by a newspaper out to prove a point. The sad bit is that there are many two bit Communists and jingoists in India who would cheer and applaud at this unfunny joke. A sad state of affairs to say the least!

LEED Standards a Fraud Says Expert

Also from Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/the-four-sins-of-leedwashing.php In the rush for magic mantras and catch-words we often get tied up in cults chasing false messiahs as this whole business of LEED certification is concerned. In my own completely inexpert way I have discussed this with a very good friend, Manoj Barai who posts here from time to time as he is a professional in the Indian real estate sector. Hopefully, countries like India which are poor and which lack infrastructure would take the newer standards / suggestions into consideration and not get overswayed by the LEED mantra to nowhere.

Recession Kills Portuguese Wave Power Project

Treehugger has this news via Cleantech and the IHT about the death of the Pelamis Wave Power Project that I had written about on this blog: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/03/portugal-pelamis-wave-power-project-dead-in-the-water.php Unfortunately, while the technical problems with the project were solved by its promoters, the current recession simply killed it. The tragedy is that the power that it would have generated would, most probably, come from fossil fuel sources and this is certain to cause more problems than it solves.

Well, one can only hope that the economy would improve . . .

Some Superb Articles from Forbes

I always prefer to take articles on green and renewable energy in the mainstream media much more seriously than I do in blogs and for a reason - these are the views of skeptics who have found something worthwhile in one or another area of environment-friendly technology. If they are convinced, and these are the views that are bound to be considered by large businesses, investors etc, then the products and technologies that they talk about would be sound. Blogs end up as the voices of activists who often are devotees or addicts to something without practical thinking on the issues that theys eek to address. Don't get me wrong - I am not going to unsubscribe to Treehugger for example, but if I find something in Forbes that would get vastly more credence than I would give to a mere blog.

Having said this, let me butt out and leave you with a link that you would enjoy if you have come thus far: http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/02/greentech-solar-autos-technology-ecotech09_land.html?partner=technology_newsletter

More Positive News from India: Kolkata Buses Run on Biodiesel Blend

Treehugger has this very interesting entry on Kolkata Trams running on a biodiesel blend in an attempt at reducing bus generated pollution in the city by about a third: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/calcutta-tramways-buses-make-switch-biodiesel-blend.php

Hat's off to the Indian Railways who also own the Kolkata Tramways Corporation for this feat. Indian Railways already use some quantities of biodiesel and I hope they go from strength to greater strength. Now, will other cities across the country please take note?

One more Reason for India to Concentrate on Jatropha Cultivation

Treehugger has this entry about a new technology to make jatrophs seedcake non-poisonous and safe for use as animal feed: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/jatropha-biodiesel-economics-could-be-transformed-new-seedcake-purification-method.php The company that ahs developed the process, D1 Oils in the UK http://www.d1plc.com/ hopes to get full regulatory approval to sell the technology by 2010. Considering that they already sell biodiesel units, they should be a good company to watch as far as future products are concerned. I am not sure what machinery is used in India to process jatropha but I can see D 1 making a strong pitch to sell their plants and technology in the future.

Some Interesting News from Japan

Treehugger has two interesting posts that are well worth looking at. The first concerns Japan Airlines (the world's second largest airline) experimenting with and finding biofuel based on a combination of jatropha, algae and camelina oil more efficient in jets than fossil fuels. While these do still put carbon into the air, the reduced amounts of pollution from increased efficiency must be lauded. And, all three of these crops grow in India. Check the post out at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/japan-airlines-finds-biofuel-more-efficient-than-petro-fuel-in-test-flight.php

The second post deals with a traditional Japanese farming practice including vegetable and rice cultivation called Satoyama: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/satoyama-japan-mountain-farms.php Funnily, modern Japanese rice cultivation methods which involve the heavy use of fertilizers are not really more efficient. I guess there is a lot of sense in using the old ways as far as agriculture is concerned.

Both of these posts have a relevance to South Asia. India in particular has taken to jatropha cultivation in a big way and there is a lot of potential for algae cultivation in filthy sewage carrying canals like Chennai's Cooum "River" and similar outlets in other cities. Instead of merely rotting and stinking the place up, India's shit could literally provide a valuable resource to help people fly. It would also reduce the amount of money that the country sends out to Abdullah land for buying jet fuel. Good idea? You bet!

When are We Going to See this on the Ganges?

Treehugger has this story about a Chinese project to clean up one of that country's polluted rivers: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/chinese-tower-cleans-river.php When last I remembered, the most polluted river in the world happened to be India's holiest - the Ganga. I remember Indian politicians from Indira Gandhi down claiming that they were going to clean it up. Forty years on, little, if anything, has happened other than ever louder claims being put forward as is done in India's Parliament and State Assemblies especially as far as the environment is concerned. My friend Mohan and I have discussed the sorry state of a much smaller "river" that runs through our home town - the Couum on this blog earlier.

I wonder if this is a time for the Govt of India to seriously get off their collective haunches and look at converting the filth that goes into the rivers into a valuable resource - which it most certainly is? The huge amount of sewage that goes out into India's rivers could be processed into biogas and used as a fuel and the slurry left behind processed into fertilizer. India imports crude oil as a fuel and also buys natural gas for its huge fertilizer industry. And the politicians have not bothered to look closer home for the resources that are directly available.

Hopefully, these days when the country keeps talking about competing with China, it would look at the better things that the Chinese are doing and not just emulate the worst that comes out of that country.